Cyber
by kevin.lie
Summary: Two gamer cats went on an adventure into the gaming world after accepting a challenge from a mysterious hacker, with one mission: to save the world. UPDATED! Contain Action, Adventure, Friendship with a chance of Romance (likely), and Sci-Fi. Rated T for violence, strong language and mild suggestive themes. Please Read & Review!
1. Prologue — Hunter Killer

**Greetings! The name's Kevin Lie and this is my first try to write a fanfiction, so any critique/reviews will be accepted.**

**I edited this chapter for grammatical error in the meantime, since I'm stuck on chapter 3. Well, enjoy yourself with this while I'm writing the next chapter! Don't forget to review!**

**Disclaimer : I only own the main ideas and plot twists.**

* * *

**_"There's no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war. Except its ending."_**

**_— Abraham Lincoln_**

* * *

Europe has gone to hell. The war has given a huge blow for the Western Allies. The Russian army has declared a war since 2 months ago, and the word 'victory' seemed to be in their grip now. Using advanced bioweapons, an improved poisonous gas, to be exact, able to kill a man within seconds if exposed. At least 150,000 soldier and 500,000 civilians became the victim of the surprising gas attack in the Europe. And just in one hour, Russia commenced the assault. Crippled by the first attack, the Red Army just need a small effort to conquer half of Europe, while the rest of army were moving forward to attack America across Atlantic ocean, bringing at least a hundred of warships fleet. In just a month after they commenced the full frontal assault, the west coast of United States has fallen. Europe's almost lost their continent, save England and Northern Europe as their last fort. Japan and China wasn't better, taking neutral position with every Asia's country. To put it in one word: ALONE. They are alone.

Their last-ditch of effort was to clear out the Russian fleet of warships. They were stationed just 1 kilometers from the west coast, breaching United States army little by little. The plan was to sabotage the commanding submarine, deploying thousands of missiles to destroy their own fleet. The General of US army, codename Overlord, sent one of the best team of Delta Force Special Ops to do this mission, which could be their last mission, or the United States last mission.

"Alright team. Slow and steady. Stick together and watch out for mines." Sandman gave his team the signal to move out. Leo, Aeris, Frost and Grinch followed their captain in their diving outfit. They were moving below the sea, diving through the subway station, or what was left of it. It was nothing but underwater tunnel now, full of subway's wreckage and hundred of civilian's bodies, floating mid-water and dead, having nowhere to run from the sea water.

"Dammit, even the innocent have to gave away their lives for nothing." Leo spoke through the radio, with voice full of grieve.

"I know Leo, but we can't do anything for them anymore." Aeris replied and put her hand on Leo's shoulder. "But we will kick those bastard's ass really hard for this." She said with determination.

"Focus on the mission, guys. Look, the SEAL team is joining us." said Grinch to them. The Navy SEAL team approached them from the north.

"So what's the status on the submarine?" Sandman asked the SEAL team.

"Only half a click from here, still remained stationary." the SEAL's captain replied. "We're going to infiltrate the submarine from below, plant some bombs on it, and they will have no choice but to surface. Then a small team must infiltrate and reach for the command room, take control of the missile to destroy the fleet." He continued with the plan.

"Sounds like the plan. Alright team, stick together and double the time. We need to do this fast." said Sandman to his team. And five minutes later, they've reached the submarine. Nuclear powered submarine, fully armed with missile, ready to destroy an entire city in one press of the button, to be exact. At least they could still be grateful the Russian weren't bringing nuclear warhead with them, or the whole America will just pop in one shot.

"Okay, spread out. Leo, Aeris, go to the tail and plant some mines on them. Frost, Grinch, go plant some in the front." Sandman commanded. Without questions, they went to their respective positions. Leo and Aeris planted some mines on the tail and set the timer in two minutes.

"Alright, Captain. The mines are all set. Two minutes before explosion." Aeris reported to Sandman.

"The mines all set here, too." Frost also reported. "Let's get this show on the road in... 90 seconds." He continued after looked the time on his watch.

"Let's get the hell away from it, Leo" said Aeris to her teammate while she swam away from the submarine. He wasn't answering. She turned to him and Leo seemed struggling while he was holding his neck. "Leo? What are you doing? Get away from it!" Still no respond. Aeris approached him. He was still struggling, kicking, choking on water. Aeris' eyes widened from shock.

"LEO!" Aeris shouted. She checks the oxygen meter on Leo's oxygen tank. The neddle pointed at zero.

"What happened, Aeris? You just blow up my eardrums, shouting like that." Sandman asked while he also complained.

"Leo's oxygen tank is empty!" Aeris replied. Worry can be heard from her tone.

"Do something and get away from that sub NOW. It will explode in 30 seconds." Sandman said and moved himself away from the sub.

"Just, hang on Leo! Keep your eyes open and hold your breath!" Aeris quickly pulled Leo and tried to move away to safe position.

"15 seconds! Hurry up, Aeris!" Sandman said, started to worry about his team members. Aeris swam as fast as she could to regroup with the team. And Leo seemed to stop struggling.

"Wait...". Aeris looked at Leo and he almost passed out.

"Leo! Oh no, don't die on me!" Aeris holded her breath, quickly removed her mask, and placed it in Leo's face. Leo gasped, relieved for finally getting air after choking for so long. He still feels dizzy for passing out, trying to deliver his precious oxygen to his brain, then in just a while, he feel much better.

"Thanks, Aeris. I owe you big this time." Leo thanked her, still breathing heavily.

Aeris nodded and smiled. She gave him signal to hold his breath, then remove her oxygen mask and she attached it to her face again. "You almost always owe me, Leo. Try to pay your debts next time." She said and grinned to him, trying to tease him. He smiled and give her two thumbs up. The two then regrouped with the rest of Delta Force team.

"The fireworks' gonna start in... now." Grinch said while doing the countdown with his fingers. And a second after that...

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A lot of explosions bombarded the submarine, cracked its shielding and let the water sunk into it. The explosions gave the water some shockwave and they were pushing the entire team away. "WOOHOO! That's what I called BOOMBASTIC!" Leo shouted with joy (with Aeris oxygen mask on him, of course).

"Yeah, it's starting to get rare to see fireworks underwater." Frost joked.

"We can see fireworks after workhour, team. The mission's not over yet. SEAL team, regroup with our army and get us a ride home. The rest of you, follow me." Sandman gave everyone command. The Navy SEAL swam away back to the west coast, while Sandman's team swam to the surface.

The Delta Force surfaced from the sea, just in the same time the submarine also surfaced because of the damage caused by the mines. They quickly got on the sub, and Sandman gave them another order. "Alright, Leo and Aeris will get to the command room from this entrance. Weapons free, everyone's hostile." He pointed to the sub's entrance near it's tail. "Me, Frost, and Grinch will go the second entrance, being a decoy and at least cut the enemy's number inside." The three then move quickly to another entrance of the submarine. "Oh, and you two? Don't die." Sandman said to Leo and Aeris, then returned to their mission.

Before they make entrance to the submarine, Leo and Aeris removed their mask and oxygen tank, revealing their face and fur color as grey and pink. Leo tried to pull his medium-length spiky hair to the back of his head to prevent it from blocking his sight, while Aeris grabbed a rubber band from her pocket and make a ponytail of her shoulder length pink hair. They checked their weapon strapped in their back and belt, making sure that nothing's jammed when they need to shoot someone.

"Alright, Aeris. You ready?" Leo asked her while he opened the sub's hatch. Aeris grabbed a frag grenade and pulled its pin.

"I'm always ready." She smirked. Leo replied with a wide grin. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" She shouted and threw the frag into the entrance, and 2 seconds later they can hear a nice 'boom' from below.

"Alright! GO GO GO!" Leo jumped into the entrance, quickly pulled his silenced MP5 and searched the area. He saw four dead bodies inside. "Clear!" He shouted to Aeris. Aeris then jumped in, pulled her combat knife and her trusted Desert Eagle to her hands. "Really, Aeris? A single knife and a pistol?" Leo said, shooking his head.

"Heh, I bet a hundred bucks I can kill more than you." Aeris said and grinned devilishly. Leo always knew that devil's grin means she's serious, but Leo's pride (and maybe idiocy) pushed him to accept the challange. He was holding his chin, considering the challange.

"Deal." He said. They shook hand and proceed further to the sub.

The submarine is huge, with 100 meters long and 20 meters wide. They can hear many voices from many direction, saying something in Russian. Aeris closed her eyes and try to sense the surroundings.

"30 or more hostiles, fully armed, 50 meters from here." Leo said flatly. much to Aeris' surprise, he thought exactly like she thought.

"Oh? Since when the usual dumbass I know can sense perfectly?" Aeris teased and giggled.

"Since I'm better than you, pinky. Better gather those bucks with you."

Aeris stopped, turned around to face him, then poked his forehead with her finger. "You better remember who saved your sorry ass from some Somalian pirates' ambush on our last mission before you're mocking me, King of Idiots." She laughed softly. She always love that nickname of his.

"Of course I remember that, Iron Lady. But you better not forget who assisted you in your 'lone wolf' mission at Moscow."

"Wait, that was YOU, who bombarded those tanks?"

"Of course that's me! Oh, and some sniper assists, too! What, Sandman doesn't tell you about it?"

"Well, not a word. I thought..." Aeris' word got cut off by a grenade explosion. The two felines quickly hid to the engine room near them. Leo peeked a little. He could see a lot of men running along the hallway to where the explosion happened.

"Well, we'll continue our conversation later. Sandman and the others have just started the party and we waste our time sitting here." Aeris patted his shoulder from behind, gave him signal to get moving and continued their mission.

Leo kept his finger on the MP5 trigger and his eyes on the iron sight, prepared for any surprise attack from the enemy. Aeris was doing the same, only with a knife in her left hand. They walked silently more further and deeper, then suddenly Leo could hear the stabbing and choking sound behind him.

With a fast reflex that not a normal person can have, Leo turned 180 degrees and he was ready to have a shot. He released his finger from the trigger when he sees Aeris and a dead body. "Aeris 1, Leo 0." she said with yet familiar devilish grin. Her knife stabbed through the man's neck from the front and all the way through the back. She pulled her knife back, and a lot of blood came out from the hole. "Gonna admit that I'm better than you now?" she teased him. When suddenly, he pulled his MP5's trigger, shooting at Aeris' head, but 15 centimeters to the right. Aeris almost skipped a heartbeat for that shot. "What the hell, Leo?" she shouted angrily, ready to stab him with her combat knife, still coated with blood, when suddenly she heard a 'thump' right behind her. She nervously turned around, only to found a body, with a hole between his eyes.

"Leo 1, Aeris 1." He replied and grinned, but not a devilish one, more like a childish one.

Aeris pulled out a long breath and sighed from relief. "Seems like I owe you one now, Leo." She admitted and smiled to him.

"Nuh-uh. Let's just say I'm paying my debts." Leo replied, combing his spiky hair with his hand. Aeris chuckled a little, remembered her words earlier.

"Let's just finish this mission and go home." She started walking further. Leo followed her and returned to his combat stance.

They could hear gunfight far to the other side of the sub. A few more Russian soldier were running to the source of the gunshot. After they had gone far enough, two felines popped out their head from the corner of the wall.

"Sandman and the others did their jobs. Now's our chance." Aeris whispered and give Leo a signal to follow her. Leo nodded and walking behind her, now more steadily and silently. And finally they found a large room with a lot of men guarding it. The room have red lamps as its light source. The room have a lot of machinery and huge pipes connecting them.

"Looks like there's no other way." Aeris prepared a flashbang.

Leo firmed his grip on his weapon. "I'll take point after you throw the flash."

Aeris nodded, pulled the pin and threw the flashbang. "Flashbang!" one of the Russian shouted, but that wasn't stopping it from throwing a blinding flash of light. Leo stepped in first after he was sure that the flashbang explode, then quickly took down 5 hostiles with ease. Aeris followed him after, checking every corner of the room, then she could see a lot of enemies coming to their direction.

"Leo, quick! Take cover!" She shouted to him and pushed him behind those huge pipes while she ran behind a machine at the other side. And then, the gunfight commenced.

There were still 20 or less men in there, maybe more, but it wasn't a trouble for these two brave cats. Leo's fast reflex of his muscle made him always faster when it comes to weapon's duel, while Aeris's fast movement made her could dodge gunfire easily when a second later the gunner had already taken down with her knife on his neck or a bullet from her gun. Finally, after 10 minutes of gunfight and a lot of corpses later, they approached a thick steel door with something written in Russian that seemed like a command room.

"Aeris! Looks like this is the door." Leo called Aeris when he found the door.

"Give me explosives." Aeris said while Leo handed her some C4. She quickly set them on the door and grabbed a remote.

"Breaching in 3...2...1..." She gave signal to Leo. Leo's MP5 had just finished reloading and steadied on his hand.

THUNK!

The metal door was knocked down inside the room, when Leo quickly took point and picked two target inside and shot them at the right corner of the room. Aeris followed him a second later and bring down two more target at the left with her handgun. They both sighed with relief and holstered their weapon.

"So who's the winner, hmm?" Aeris asked Leo with – again – devilish grin and put both her hands on her hip.

"I dunno, let's see. 10... 11... 12... yeah, I got twelve." Leo replied.

"Hmph, you're just in luck. I also got twelve." Aeris humped, slightly disappointed. "Well, I was hoping to get a nice, expensive drink tonight."

"See? I'm getting better! You better watch out for this 'King of Idiots'!" Leo gave a grin back. Aeris rolled her eyes, then continued to search the room.

"Looks like we're clear." Aeris said after finished checking the room. Leo grabbed his radio and reported the situation to Sandman.

"Sandman, we have control of the command room." Leo reported.

"Nice one, you two. What keep you so long?"

"We got some... distractions." Aeris replied and smiled together with Leo.

"Alright. Now Aeris, aim the missiles to the Russian's warship fleet. Leo, unlock the security code. The code is Seven-Alpha-Tango-Nine-Xray-Zero-Four-Kilo. We already evacuated a minute ago, but we have prepared you a speedboat outside the sub. See you later, guys." Then Sandman turned off his radio.

"Alright Leo, now we press this two red button together." Aeris pointed at two red buttons on the panel. Then two nice 'beep' sound could be heard in unison. Then in just a few second, the whole sub started shaking pretty hard.

"The missile's already launched! Let's get out of here!" Aeris pulled Leo's upper arm and dragged him to the nearest exit. They climbed outside and found a small speedboat on the water beside the submarine. Aeris jumped to the boat, while Leo slid into it. Leo started the boat's engine and in one go, he pulled the throttle to full speed.

Hundred of missiles were sent flying from all the warships' fleet to the sky, only to return to the sea, destroying themselves. "Now THIS is what I called fireworks! WOOO!" shouted Aeris and the two laughed with joy.

"You kicked them pretty hard in the ass, right Aeris?" Leo said.

"No" She shook her head. "WE kicked them pretty hard in the ass." They laughed again together.

Their moment of winning suddenly passed, when they heard gunshots from behind. Leo turned behind and saw two speedboats were closing in, firing bullets to their direction.

"Aeris! Take my MP5 and protect us!" He called her and throw his MP5 and a magazine. Aeris reloaded the SMG and two enemy's speedboats came from behind them in high-speed and another gunfight has begun.

"I can't get a clear shot!" Aeris said while she was still trying to aim at the enemies and take cover from wildfires. Leo looked behind and saw that their boats were carrying mines on it.

"Try to aim at the mines on their boat!" Leo said, trying to concentrate on keeping the speed while dodging explosions from all the warships hit by missiles.

Aeris took a deep breath, aimed for the explosives, then pulled the trigger. One boat exploded and shredded to pieces. "Nice shot, Aeris!" Leo praised her with one thumb up. Aeris licked her lips, now she was trying to aim the second boat. Now it's another problem, because there's no mine on the boat. She had to put them down one by one. She tried shooting them, but none of them got hit by the bullets. She kept shooting them, until the weapons she carried was out of ammo. "Dammit!"

"Aeris! Get hold of something! I'm gonna speed up!" Leo throttled the boat even more than before. Aeris shocked by the surprising speed, almost thrown out of boat if she wasn't fast enough to grab the rope tied with the boat.

"What the hell, Leo?! Slow down a little!" she complained to Leo with still a surprised face.

"Look above you!" Leo shouted. A missile 100m from the sea's surface was coming in fast to the cats' boat. In 2-3 seconds, it would make an impact.

They stare at each other eyes with fear in them, then they screamed in unison, realized that they will not survive after this.

The missiles then tilted a bit and changed its course to the boat behind them. A huge explosion was coming from it, creating a huge wave which threw Leo and Aeris' boat high onto the air. Another scream came out from their mouth as the boat was sent flying through the air. And finally, the boat landed, well, not really smooth, but at least it wasn't flipped upside down. They gasped for air, breathed nervously after those life-death event, and finally laughed again at each other.

"You cried like a kitten!" Aeris teased Leo and continued to laugh at him.

"Oh, what a hypocrite, you crybaby!" Leo replied with another tease.

"Hey, you two! The gray and pink one! Hurry up your ass and get over here!" The felines looked at the voice's source. It was a rescue helicopter of the US army. "Come on! We're gonna launch a counter attack to them Russians!" Leo rushed their boat inside the helicopter, then the helicopter took off and returned to base.

"This is Overlord" a voice came from their radio. "We received word from Captain Sandman that Sergeant Leo and Sergeant Aeris have done the job. Nice work out there. Now we can gather the force to assist our allies in Europe. You will be re-routed to Germany and help them in the fight. For the time being, enjoy your victory. Overlord out."

Leo and Aeris sat on the helicopter and let out a long sigh. It has been a tiring day.

"Heh, Not bad at all, Leo. Not bad at all." Aeris said to him while bumped him on the shoulder.

"Well, better luck next time." Leo smirked, returned the bump to her shoulder as well.

"Am I hearing another challenge?" She let out her trademark devilish grin.

He smiled, then he closed his eyes, trying to recover for another war awaiting for them.


	2. Leo & Aeris

**Greetings! Sorry it took a while to update, I need to fix some plot holes and to do that I have to rearrange the plot and even scrap the first version of this chapter.**

**I was hoping for a review about my story here, but no one does (sniff), but it's okay. Just please leave any review after this. I'm still honing and sharpening my writing skills and any advice will be appreciated. Oh, and I've just edited this story to fix some grammatical errors. Feel free to point more mistakes, it will help me fluent my English.**

**So, here it is! Enjoy yourself!**

* * *

**Toronto, Canada  
****Sunday, January 26, 2014  
****23:45**

A long sigh came out from Leo's mouth. A short weekend finally ended. Leo jumped out of the couch and did some stretching after a half-day marathon of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 1, 2, and the 'Act I' on 3. Leo and his pink friend have just beat almost all the MW campaign in Veteran without dying even once. Their skills in gaming are impressive as usual, like they're blending into one with the game, and completely master it inside out just by playing it for a few hours.

Aeris was still sitting on the couch, yawning and rubbing her eyes with both her paws. It was a usual weekend for both of them. Sleep late, gaming until midnight, and all over again. But still, as the respective student of the University of Toronto, they still had some college to do, Monday to Friday and nine to three routines.

Aeris chose a computer related major, but she decided to pick Multimedia Design course because she can keep her imagination alive (though she usually use her imagination in lewd yaoi fanfics) and because she's really good at it. No surprise though, Aeris was one of the brightest students in the college and she graduated with perfect scores.

Leo – surprisingly – took Computer Science major and even graduated with A-minus score overall and still acted like a total dumbass. If he asked about his extraordinary grades, he always answered: "My love for games is my passion to learn Computer Science! One day I'm gonna remake Duke Nukem Forever from a crappy game to a legend!" he said carefreely, still not failed to amaze Aeris.

Their lives as a college student were surprisingly fun. Other than they both enjoyed their learning field, they also had a lot of good friends, which is a good achievement for them, especially Aeris. Leo actually had no problem at all when making friends, because he's warm and quite humorous, but Aeris is different. She almost had no friends in elementary until high school except Leo because of her anti-social manners. But she changed a lot since their Christmas a few years ago. Yes, that Christmas...

Aeris remembered that moment deep inside her heart, when her best and only friend gave her a wonderful Christmas present. It wasn't the present itself that matters – which is the wrong present – but the fact that he gave it with all his heart and strength, purely to made her happy. She learned a lot from him the true meaning of friends and how great it is to have friends, and she thanked him for it.

Since then, her attitude towards Leo changed. She sometimes still beat him up, yes, but she always said sorry after that and even treated the wound she caused. She rarely got mad at him anymore, and she laughs and smiles more often. Even Leo was confused at first by her sudden change, but Leo is more than happy to see Aeris enjoyed their friendship more. Her new self – thanks to Leo – has been helping her to make friends, even attracting some 'wannabe' boyfriends, but Aeris has never paid attention to it.

Tomorrow is their last day of the college and even better, it's a graduation ceremony with a prom night after that. But tomorrow is going to be an unusually busy day for the pink and grey cat.

"Awww... Now I wish I'm not gonna take part on that prom. It feels like Sephiroth stabbed me in the back." Leo yawned and straightened his sore backbone while speaking to his roommate.

"Hey, you're the one who really excited about it." Aeris replied with a sleepy tone. "And thanks to you, now I'm also really tired for tomorrow."

"Oh, come on Aeris! You know I can't finish that part without your help!"

"Shuddup, thank me later... Gonna sleep... Don't forget to turn off the XBox..." she spoke as if she's half-zombie, then walked from their living room with half-closed eyes to her bedroom. Leo turned off the Xbox, then tidying the room.

"THUMP" A loud crash and sounds of shattered rocks could be heard behind him.

"Oh Aeris? Watch out for that old Boxorz-O-Roxorz I left there. Gonna clean 'em up tomorrow." He then turned around, only to feel Aeris's shoes on his face. "OWWWW!"

"Should've warned me sooner, idiot!" Aeris growled and unsheathed her hidden claws.

"OKAY, OKAY! I'm sorry! Jeez..."

Aeris lowered her paws. "Good, I'm too sleepy to beat you up now, anyway." Aeris sighed, then looked at his face and gasped. His right half of the face printed red from the physical trauma and black from the dust with a shape of the shoe print.

"Oh my... is that hurt?" she concerned.

"Nah, I'm used to it." Leo replied, holding his red face.

Aeris hurrily walked to the kitchen and grabbed a sack of ice from the refrigerator, then she gently put it on Leo's surprised face without she noticed. Aeris sure is nicer to him lately. FAR too nice to be true. "Sorry I kicked your face too hard." she said softly.

"Err... I'm okay, really." Leo said, then he held the ice by himself. "Please, just have a good sleep, Aeris."

"Fine then." Aeris yawned, then walked upstairs. "Hurry up and get some sleep, too. You need it tomorrow." Aeris said while she walked in to one of the bedrooms. Leo cooled his face with the ice, the pain faded little by little and finally gone.

_"Strange, she has calmed down and she still had a bad temper at the same time..."_ he smiled when he thought about her. His heart was racing steadily, his blood was rushing faster, and a slight red flush came out from his cheeks. _"Why I feel funny when I thought about her?"_ he shook his head, _"Puberty."_ He thought, then decided to forget about it.

After 15 minutes of cleaning, the living room now looks like anew. He yawned again heavily and turned to take a look at the hanging clock. _"Midnight already? Better get some rest."_ He climbed up the stairs and entered his room. He removed his shoes, socks, and the bell from his body, then rose up the blanket from this bed. Much to his surprise, he can see a familiar pink figure, peacefully fallen in her sleep.

_"Heheh, she must be really tired she slept in the wrong bed."_ Leo giggled a little. "Aeris, wake up. This is my bed you know." he poked her shoulder softly, hoping she would wake up.

"Mmmmmm... Not now... Later..." Aeris mumbled and snuggled her head in the pillow like a little kitten snuggled with her mom, which made Leo smiled. _"She's so... cute..."_ Leo silently slapped himself. _"What am I thinking?"_ he tried to control his strange 'funny' feeling. _"Well, maybe I'll sleep in her bedroom instead."_ he decided. Before he left, he silently wrapped back Aeris's body with his blanket and Aeris replied with a smile.

"Goodnight, Aeris." Leo whispered.

"Mmm... Goodnight, Leo..." She mumbled, still in her slumber. She purred softly and still smiling.

Leo smiled widely, and he left to Aeris's bedroom. He snuggled into her bed and quickly fell asleep. _"Better not let our fellas disappointed. It's gonna be a big and tiring day tomorrow."_ he had thought to himself before he slept.

**University of Toronto – Main Hall  
****Six days earlier  
****15:10**

"Leo! Aeris! Wait up!" A girly voice was calling them while they were walking in the hallway to go home after the college day finished. The bearer of the voice is none other than Lara, a cheerful blonde cat and one of their closest friend from the college. Leo and Aeris turned around, and they saw Lara and a white panther beside her were running to catch up with them.

_Laura "Lara" Dupont was from the United States, born by a French father and an American/Canadian mother. Her family name was inherited from her father and it was the only one that tells that she's a half-French, because all her looks were inherited from her mother. She's always cheerful and high-spirited, and everybody in the college loves to talk with her. So you can say she's quite popular. She frequently met Aeris and Leo in the class (since they were sharing the same math class) but they started to be close friends when they found her out while visiting E3 2013. They caught her wearing a Lara Croft outfit in one of the booth there – which explains a lot why she preferred 'Lara' as her nickname – selling the newest Tomb Raider game, figurines, posters, even posed in position every male gamer would dream of._

_"Hey, is that Lara, the blonde cat from the math class?" Aeris pointed at her._

_"No doubt! I don't know she's a Tomb Raider geek!" Leo replied._

_"Let's surprise her..." Aeris grinned, which Leo quickly nodded. They walked silently behind her. She busily posed for every photographer who asked to take her photograph, and she seems enjoyed every moment of it that she didn't realize the two felines giggled behind her._

_"Umm, excuse us? Can we take a picture of you?" A pink finger from behind poked Lara's shoulder. Lara quickly turned around, "Of course! I-" she suddenly froze. A flash of light from Leo's camera stunned her eyes for a second, and she could see two familiar figure, the pink and gray one, were grinning devilishly._

_"Aeris? Leo? Wha- wha- what do you..?"_

_"Relax, Take a breath!" Aeris laughed a little. "Now what do you want to explain, hmm?" Aeris teased and crossed her hand on her chest._

_"Owww... I don't know I'll be found out that easy." Lara sighed._

_"No one can keep a secret from Aeris actually. Anyway, why do you hide it? Gaming's not a crime, ya know." Leo asked. "Yeah, why?" Aeris continued._

_"No! It's not like I want to hide it from you guys, honest! It's just... I'm too obsessed with Tomb Raider stuff, I don't know what will happened if my friends found out. They might think I'm a crazy geek!" she frowned._

_"No no no! Don't think like that! I spend half of my age living with a yaoi fangirl and I..."_

_"Ahem..." Aeris put both her uncovered claws on his neck. "Excuse me, what do you want to say again?" she grinned with sharp fangs showing._

_"...think she's interesting and fun girl to hang out with...?" he gulped nervously._

_"Nice escape." Her claw turned again into a paw and Leo stepped a feet away from her, which made Lara laughed at them._

_"Don't worry Lara, we're not thinking like that. We're gamers, too." Aeris comforted._

_"Oh, that's a relief! But please keep this a secret, okay?"_

_"Don't worry! A promise's a promise!" Leo raised a thumb. "But play with us sometimes! We could use a 3rd player. Right, Aeris?"_

_"Hmm, that's a good idea. How about tonight? You can come over at our house." Aeris smiled._

_"Really? Of course!" she happily accepted the offer._

_Since then, she often meet each other just to play some games or just chat about video games news and related stuff. She once showed them her complete set of Lara Croft's action figure, three different sets of cosplay costumes, and even a REAL trademark Desert Eagle she got from her father for self-defense (Read: An overprotective psycho who gave a FREAKIN' .50CALS for her daughter protection). She happily demonstrated Lara Croft's move with them – with Aeris and Leo laughed nervously and whimpered, knowing that it was FULLY-LOADED – and while she was too excited, she pulled the trigger, and a bullet flew past the opened window of her house._

_Later in the night, all news channel from Toronto were broadcasting the same breaking news. Five cars and a gasoline tanker blew up in a neighborhood. All witnesses said the same unhelpful information, a shot from nowhere and something big exploded. The miracle was that all the cars were not occupied, and the tanker driver wasn't inside his vehicle, because he parked it for a minute to deliver flowers for her wife (speaking about damn luck), meaning there were no casualties. The police gave up the case after a few weeks because the lack of information. No one knew the truth besides the three still-traumatized felines._

_And for the white panther, his name was James Fleming. James was a pure British, and even shared some family bonds with Leo's father. He lived in Canada since he was 3, so he – same as Leo – couldn't speak British English properly. James is a calm person – though he's actually a silly and funny guy when he's together with Leo – with a quite handsome face (even Aeris admitted that) which made him the ladies' man in the college. Ironically, he didn't have a girlfriend now. Aeris even asked him once if he was gay (such a question from 'YaoiFanGirl') which he answered with surprised face._

_"Bloody murder! Of course not! It's, it's... uhh... royal family issues. The girl I choose should be accepted by all my family members. Because, err... family honor and stuff..." he explained nervously._

_"Are you sure you're not just a homo, James? Maybe you should check if you have some bollocks down there?" Leo teased him in a terrible yet familiar accent._

_"Shut your bloody mouth, you arsehole. How can a royal blood gave birth to a retard like you?" James replied with another insult._

_"GO TO HELL, HOMO!"_

_"RETARDED BASTARD!"_

_Aeris grabbed both their mouth and squeezed their jaw. The British cats were surprised, struggling in pain from Aeris's powerful grip. "I swear to heavens, if you two don't stop, I'm gonna crunch your jaw and you'll have to drink milk from your nose for months." Aeris glared at them with a piercing stare._

_"Mfkay! Mfkay!" they said together with cheeks still squeezed. Aeris released them, then they gasped for air. "Aww, are my two little babies hurt?" Aeris teased happily, then walked away with laughter. Leo and James rubbed their ached jaw, then laughed at each other too. They always insulted each other with some British puns, but it was purely for jokes between them (which both annoying and entertaining at the same time for the pink cat.)_

_Anyway, let's get back to the story..._

"Oh, it's Lara! And my man, James!" Leo greeted them and gave James a fist bump. "Hello Lara, hello James." Aeris hugged Lara for a while then waved her paw to James. "So, what can I help you?" Aeris continued.

"We got some news for you." Lara said and pulled out a piece of paper from her jeans' pocket and quick-read it. "After we arranged a meeting for the prom night, the committee decided that we need TWO extra hand for the prom."

"Yeah... so?" Aeris answered flatly.

"We've been told that we have to choose anyone reliable. And our first thoughts were you two." James continued. "So, how about it? Will you help us?"

"I dunno, James. I'm not really into formal parties. They're just... you know, uncomfortable long dress and high heels and everything." Aeris shook her head. She never likes to attend parties with classy style. For her, it's 3 hours of torture of painful high heels and itchy dress.

"Why? You attended our high school prom night." Leo reminded her.

"Only because you insisted and actually whined at me to come, idiot. I wasn't enjoying it." Aeris crossed her hands. "Sorry guys, but I think I'm not even attending the ceremony." she continued.

"Pretty please, Aeris?" Lara plead.

Aeris held her chin and considered the job. "Well, I'll be very glad to help my friends. But..." She stopped and thinking.

"Don't worry! According to my note, we just need a DJ for the music and a receptionist to accompany James here at the front door. You can be the DJ while Leo help James escort the guests!" Lara explained.

"DJ huh? Just choosing the music for the dance floor?"

"Yup!"

"So, no dress and high heels?"

"Well, it's the dress code. But at least you can sit while handling the music." Lara explained. "So, you're in? You guys are the only one I can trust for this."

"Well, of course! If Jamie's there that would be fun!" Leo answered happily.

"Hmm, alright. I'm in, too." Aeris nodded. "But one thing, James."

"What is it?" James asked her.

"You sure you want this grey idiot to escort the guests? He would scare them away!" Aeris pointed at Leo while chuckled a little.

"That retarded barmpot? I'll handle him, don't worry about it." James grinned widely.

"Shut up, nancy-boy! I heard that!" Leo replied.

"Stop calling me that! How many times I must say that I'm not gay!"

"Oh here we go again..." Aeris sighed heavily and facepalm herself. Lara giggled at her friends silly behaviour. She felt like watching a comedy show right in front of her.

Aeris then turned to the blonde cat. "So what we have to do, Lara? When and where?"

"In a week, at January 27th at Toronto City Hall's lobby."

"Wait, the mayor gives us the permission?" Aeris asked.

"He offered it, actually. He's an honorary guest afterall." James continued. "The ceremony started at 6 PM, but the comittee should come at 8 in the morning to prepare the lobby."

"Eight? But that's way too early!" Leo protested.

"Don't whine, Leo. It will be short actually. We just need to make sure the room's is nicely decorated and I also need to give you some training to be a good receptionist." James explained.

"Ahhh... Alright, Jamie." Leo sighed. He never wakes up early if it's not the time for lectures or games.

"Great! Thank you so much guys!" Lara tightly hugged Leo and Aeris together in the neck.

"...stahp...you killed us..." Aeris choked.

"Oops!" she quickly loosen her arms. "Sorry! Anyway, see you next week!" Lara waved then ran away toward the front gate, followed by James not far later after he give Leo a highfive.

After they went partways, Leo and Aeris continued to walk home. It's January the 20th, so the weather was still quite cold. The sidewalk wasn't too crowded, but it surely was lively. Some children were playing tag on the nearby empty field, some couples were walking together while helding hands, a street musician was playing saxophone for spare changes, a businessman was talking angrily on the phone, and some friendly elders were greeting everybody from their courtyard who walk past their house, including Leo and Aeris.

Leo was wearing his usual warm attire. Blue sweater, blue jeans, gloves, ear covers, red boots instead of his usual red sneakers, and the trademark blue bell was hanging on his neck. But something was catching his eyes on Aeris appearance today. Hell, she has already made him wonder since he found out her note and her lipstick on his forehead on that Christmas.

Aeris was wearing a slim wool coat with the color of rosy pink which fitted her figure nicely. She was also wearing a dark red scarf around her neck which covered almost half of her face, leather gloves, a purple tight warm trousers and brown leather boots, and of course her Triforce necklace. It was quite a girly attire from her usual daily clothes, which is usually consists of a simple pink jacket and jeans.

"Yo, Aeris. I have something in my mind..." Leo talked to her first after a few minutes of peaceful silence between them.

"Beside your lame jokes and stupid prank ideas? Let's hear it." she grinned jokingly.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" he said straightforward.

She almost hit the lamp post when she heard that. "Wha...? What was that about? What do you mean?"

"Oh, you don't have to hide it, ya know. I just knew it by looking at you!"

"Me?" she checked at her appearance for a second. "What's wrong about me?"

"Should I mention it? Fine. You're warmer, you smiled a lot, you just said you loved to help with things you don't even like, and you acted and dressed like a GIRL. Come on... tell me who it is! Jake? Henry? Vincent? T..."

He paused, a pink soft finger placed on his lips. Aeris stopped in front of him, shut him up gently with her thumb and she replaced it with a soft grab on his chin. She stares at the forest green eyes with his sky blue ones. She lean her face slowly closer to him, until only an inch of air separates them. Her expression was stern, which only makes him paralyzed. He doesn't know what to do. He wanted to back away, but his nerves was telling otherwise. And then she whispered...

"I never had one."

She smiled at first after she say that, then followed by a laughter when she sees a blank state of her gray friend.

"Hellooo...! You're not going to faint, are you?" she poked him in the forehead. Leo then blinked a few times and regained conciousness.

"Wait... What do you mean by 'never had one'? I mean, I saw some guys were hitting on you, and..."

"I reject them all, Leo." Aeris cut him.

"Eh?" Leo widen his eyes and raised his left eyebrow. "...why?"

"I dunno, I think it's still too early for me for a relationship. I don't even have time to thought about finding one."

"Really? Then why the sudden change?"

"About my fashion lately? Hey, I also have rights to dress properly like a lady, you know. It will helped me a lot when I'm getting a job after we graduated."

"Ahh... That explains one thing." he rubbed his chin. "But you've been nicer to everybody and ME, even when I'm in a total idiot mode. Damn, I even miss to be a punching bag once..."

"Ohhh... You mean you wanted to have your daily beatings again?" she teased and clenched her fists.

"No! I'm more than grateful that you're calmed down. Just... why?"

"I... You mean you don't know?" Aeris giggled from disbelief.

"Huh? What should I know?" Leo scratched his head. _"What a thick-brain."_ she thought, but she shook it off. _"But he was the Leo I knew, the one and only idiot of mine."_

"It's because someone who really cared about me gave me a perfect gift for Christmas a few years ago." she could feel her cheeks are getting warmer, "And he teaches me to treasure the most important thing in my life. He teaches me to treasure my friends, especially my best friend here, right in front of me." she gazed at those green eyes once more.

"Hmm... he must be a very wise guy." he smiled. "What was the gift exactly? And who is this guy you're talking about?" he wondered cluelessly.

_"Gawd... can't he take the hint?"_ she took a deep breath and smiled softly. "Try to figure it out by yourself, dumbass. Come on, it's freezing here!" she started to run away.

"He... hey! Wait! You haven't answered my question! Aeris!" He also started running to catch up with her.

"The last one to reach the house must do the laundry!" Aeris shouted to Leo while she were running backwards and sticking her tongue out.

"And it will be you!" Leo grinned and started to sprint, so does Aeris. They were racing to their house with happy laughter and throwing puns along the way and Leo easily forgot what he asked earlier, because as long as he's happy with Aeris, there's nothing to question about.

**End of Flashback**

The house of the grey and pink cat was fading black, following the night. A peaceful cold breeze blew over the trees on the street. Other than two felines slept peacefully at each other's bedroom, nothing seems to be out of ordinary. It was just another cold, silent night at Toronto in January.

RING! RING!

A dark figure with a familiar red, shining eyes behind a jeans mask jumped out silently from the tree at the front of their house. He held a rectangular device, shining and ringing a soft ringtone. He froze there at the street for a few second, and finally decided to answer the call.

"Yes, Captain?" the figure spoke first.

"Don't be too formal on me, Scott." the man on the phone replied. "So how's things?"

"Krug has stopped his activity lately, so it's a peaceful night. And call me Pantsman at this time." Pantsman replied flatly.

"Oh, sorry. Let me straighten my question. How's your report on them tonight?"

"Same as the report I gave you every night since a month ago, Captain. They're improving. Faster reflex, sharper eyes, and better senses."

"Impressive. Still improving at this stage. They sure are natural. I think they can handle themselves already."

"*sigh* I'm still not sure about it." Pantsman replied. "They're still not ready."

"I know it's a tough decision for you, they're your closest friends, so please take your time. And for the heads up, my agency just detected another suspicious but familiar signal source, from London."

"London? This guy surely is invisible."

"Yeah, and I have a bad feeling that this time won't be just another threat like in Washington and Seoul. This time might be the first attack."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Call it the sixth sense, Scott. Anyway, I gotta go, and... thanks for your help, pal. I truly appreciate it." with that, the call ended.

Pantsman sighed, then pocketed his phone back. Then he looked back behind him to saw their house.

"I'm sorry, fellas... I wish I can fix this by myself, but I need your help. No, the WORLD need your help." he talked to the house, hoping them to hear it. "Just not today..." Then, he walked off to his home a few blocks from here.

**Monday, January 27th, 2014  
****07:05**

The sunshine's ray of light pierced through the window of Leo's bedroom, waking Aeris up from her slumber slowly. She sat on the bed and yawning. She felt really rejuvenated that morning. She was still half asleep, and after rubbing her eyes for a while, her eyes finally adjusted with the light. She put a smile after she wakes up and realized that her cheek was rosy pink, because of her crazy dream last night.

**Aeris's POV & Dream**

_I can't believe what happened. My best friend Leo just confessed to me tonight after he suddenly dragged me to his room. He said he loved me even since we first met. I couldn't hold my excitement, because I just found out that our love is mutual. Yes, I also had a crush on him when we first met, but I always hold that feelings because he might be thinking that I'm only his best friend, nothing more. But this night, everything's clear. He loved me, I loved him, and nothing can took us apart right now._

_We hugged tightly at first, then we gazed at each other's eyes for a while, and finally I could feel my first kiss from my first boyfriend. It was awkward, but still it was good. Everything got very heated when we started the French kiss. Our tongue were dancing in each other's mouth, our lips only parted when we need air, only to continue the kiss afterward. My mind was almost blank, and my instinct as a woman took control. I pulled him to his bed, and I placed him on top of me. I grabbed his head again only to make out with him. He was surprisingly good at kissing, and I enjoyed every second of it. Everything just went blank after that, but I could feel a great pleasure in my body __**(A/N: C'mon, its T-rated, and it's already sinful enough for me to describe the kiss.)**__ and I can see that our clothes were shattered on the floor._

_We decided to get dressed again, because it's still too cold for us to sleep naked. I then placed myself on the bed and Leo laid beside me. We embraced each other and he whispers, "Goodnight, Aeris." I pecked his lips once more. "Mmm... Goodnight, Leo..." then I slowly closed my eyes and purred softly..._

**General POV**

"...That dream surely was crazy." Aeris spoke to herself. "But it was _fun..._" she giggled. She then looked around the room. "Wait a minute, since when my bed is blue? And where's my laptop? I..." she suddenly realized there's something wrong.

_"Why am I in Leo's bed? But in my dreams we were making out in... OH MY..."_ she was completely embarrassed, SO embarrassed that a pink blush on her cheeks changed into red. She held her lips with her right paw. She suddenly feel weakened.

_"OH. MY. GAWD. It's real, he really confessed to me, we really did that French kiss... I gave my virginity to..."_ her feelings were so mixed that she could burst in tears anytime. _"Wa... wait! I'm pretty sure that was just a dream, that was surely a GODDAMNED dream because I'm still feeling intact. But... what if it's true? ARRRGGGH! I have to ask him what happened that night RIGHT NOW!"_ Aeris took a deep breath and calmed herself, then slowly rose up and opened the door.

She could hear the sound of water running from the faucet in the kitchen. It surely was Leo. She slowly walked downstairs without making noise, and she saw two peanut butter sandwich on the table and Leo, who was still washing the dishes.

_"He already makes the breakfast? He almost never wakes up before me. How nice..."_

"Oh, morning Aeris! Did you sleep well?" Leo snapped her from her thoughts after he finished washing. She then looked up to meet Leo's green eyes. Unlucky for her, she suddenly remembers every detail on her dream last night after she looked at him, and she just froze there with red cheeks.

"Eh... Umm..." she tried hard to answer him, but no avail.

"Aeris, are you okay? Do you have a fever?" he stepped closer and put his hand on her forehead to check her temperature.

"Wha- No! I'm... I'm okay." she stepped back and looked away from him. She suddenly can't bear to look at his face normally anymore.

"Really? But your face was so red I thought you caught a cold or something." he said, concerned about Aeris.

"I said I'm okay! I'm just feeling tired, that's all." she replied angrily. _"Damn it, why I'm blushing in front of him? I can't even think straight anymore! Christ, please help me..."_

"Oookay... just tired then. A hot milk will do the trick." he stepped inside the kitchen again and brew the milk on the pot.

Aeris felt a slight of relief, then sits on the chair besides the dining table. She then took one of the sandwich and ate it in just a minute. Not that she was hungry, but because she only does that if she's nervous, and she was extremely nervous today.

"Eh? Already finished? Here's the milk. You'll fell energized." he handed her a cup of warm milk.

"Thanks." she said and grabbed the cup without looking up. She drank it a little and she realized that the milk is actually helped her to calm her nerves a while ago. Leo then took a seat in front of her and started eating breakfast. Now that Aeris is calm enough, she can finally asked him her earlier question in her head.

"Leo, please explain something." she spoke with a flat tone, with mixed emotion on her thought. She glared sharply at his eyes.

"Explain what? A-and please don't glare at me like that." he said nervously and whimpered.

Aeris suddenly stood up from the chair and growled, which made Leo both confused and terrified.

"What did you do to me last night!? ANSWER!" she asked with a still growling voice.

"Wh-what I did to you? I don't know what you mean!"

"I blacked out last night, and I woke up in YOUR bed! Why was I in your bed!? Did you just... did you..." her rage is at its peak now. She felt like she could kill him – literally – right now.

"Aeris, calm down." he approached her and held both her shoulders and he looked at her blue fiery eyes with concern and care. He smiled and spoke softly, "Let me explain what happened. You blacked out because you were tired after our Modern Warfare marathon. You slept in my bedroom because you were too sleepy to care which was your bedroom. Then after I found you in my bed, I decided to sleep in your bed instead. There, that's your answer. Nothing happened after that."

Aeris's wrath suddenly vanished. She gasped and dropped her jaw. "Is... Is it true?"

"When do I lie to you? And what will I do to you anyway if you're sleeping in my- OHHH..." he smirked after he realized what Aeris is thinking about, which only make her blushed again. "You think I just 'deflowered' you last night... didn't you?" he teased her.

"SH-SHUT IT! That's enough! If you bring this up again, I'll skin your sorry ass!" she shouted angrily while she was holding his hot cheeks.

"Damn, I know you'll say that. Don't worry, it's our little secret." Leo promised. "But... try to avoid yaoi stuff for a while, it gave you some perverted dreams."

"LEO!" she felt like a hunter in Left 4 Dead and she wanted to pounce him badly. They ran around the house, with Aeris was trying to tackle him badly and Leo was running around with a laughter. When she finally caught him and stumbled together at the floor, they laughed together eventually at the end. Aeris still remembered the dream she had last night, but she decided to keep it for a while from Leo. _"Tee-hee, maybe I'll tell him someday."_ she thought and grinned.

"Oh! I almost forgot we have an appointment at the city hall. I'm gonna take a shower first." Aeris remembered about the ceremony.

"Yeah, surely you need one. You smell like raw tuna today." Leo held his nose with his paw.

"Har har. Be right back." she rose up from the floor and headed to the bathroom in her room. She took a quick warm shower, dried herself, and decided to wear the purple turtleneck, blue jeans, and red thick jacket with hoodie because it was quite windy outside. She put her leather boots, and walked downstairs to the living room to find Leo.

"I'm ready, Leo. Let's go." she shouted at him who was waiting at the front door. He was wearing his usual warm clothing he had for almost three years straight. "Jeez, you're wearing that again? Don't you have any other options?"

"Nah, I don't have anything beside this for winter. It's been awhile since I went shopping for clothes by the way."

"Of course you don't. You only have old clothes because the last time you went shopping for clothes was... one, two, three Christmas ago?"

"Don't bother, Aeris. As long as I'm warm I'll be fine." he opened the front door and stepped outside with her, then Leo locked it from outside and they were walking slowly on the chilly sidewalk.

"You should wear something different for once, Leo. How about this, after we finished our prom business, you're going to go with me to the mall. We'll find you some new clothes while I find a dress for the prom." Aeris explained.

"Oh, I knew you always cared for me, Aeris." Leo said with a childish tone.

"Not like that, idiot. I can't go outside walking with someone with worn out clothes."

"Fine, we'll go shopping. And... thank you." Leo said softly.

"For what?" Aeris wondered.

"For caring about me." he smiled sincerely towards her, followed by Aeris's blushing again. They continued to walk to the bus station together, hoping that today will go like they planned.

* * *

**And it concludes the second chapter! The next chapter is still in my draft, and I'm not sure when it will be released. I promise it won't take a month.**

**A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you. - Elbert Hubbard**


End file.
